Seton Hall University
Butler
Hall Falls in Series Opener with Butler
4/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 26, 2014
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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University softball team lost its series opener against Butler University, 9-1, on Saturday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field.
The Pirates grabbed the early lead, 1-0, through one inning, which they maintained until the fourth when Butler homered in back-to-back at-bats to swing the momentum.
Seton Hall falls to 8-8 in the BIG EAST while Butler improved to 8-7 with five regular season games to play. The Pirates currently sit in fifth place in the conference standings, trailing the Bulldogs by a half game with two games remaining in the critical conference series. The teams will meet for a doubleheader on Sunday, April 27, starting at 12 p.m.
Prior to Saturday's game, Seton Hall celebrated Senior Day, honoring its three members of the Class of 2014 who have all been key contributors for the program over the last four seasons: Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.), Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) and Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.).
SHU starter Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.), who entered the game having won four of her last six starts, was in control early on, striking out five Bulldogs through the first three innings while yielding just a pair of base hits.
Offensively, The Hall manufactured a run in the top of the first to hold that early lead. Sophomore Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) led off with a single up the middle and advanced to third on a DeStaso sacrifice bunt. Butler intentionally walked Henze to load the bases for junior Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine), who was riding a career-best five-game hitting streak heading into Saturday. She sailed a fly ball to deep center field, allowing Harrell to tag up and score easily from third.
Seton Hall, which stranded seven base runners on the day, advanced a runner to third in each of the next two innings but was unable to plate another run. That proved to be costly when the Butler offense found some rhythm in the fourth.
All four of the Bulldog runs that inning were unearned because of two errors and a couple of additional missteps in the field. Chelsea Norwood drove in the first run of the game, Kristen Boros, who was on base following an error at first. From there Krista Hackola and Riley Carter homered in consecutive at-bats and suddenly the Pirates trailed 4-1.
Butler scored four more in the fifth, stringing together five base hits in the frame. Needing one run in the sixth to keep the game going the Pirates attempted to rally with two outs. Base hits for sophomore Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) and Metzger gave SHU runners at first and second with two outs, but junior Colltey Sheldon (Peoria, Ariz.) was unable to drive in a run.
Harrell was 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot for The Hall and DeStaso went 1-for-2 with a double. DeStaso fell to 7-8 with the loss, allowing eight runs, only four of them earned, with six strikeouts in four innings. Metzger yielded just two hits with one strikeout in two relief innings.
